How To Get Medical Marijuana

24 Feb How To Get Medical Marijuana

Are you wanting to improve your quality of life with medical marijuana?

Are you new to the medical cannabis landscape?

Do you have a ton of questions and don’t even know where to start?

We’re going to help you.

We’d like to assist all those who already know they could benefit from medical marijuana as well as educate those who aren’t sure. It isn’t right for everyone and everything, but it is right for many, and more than people usually realize.

Let’s start with some statistics* to help you understand that you aren’t alone.

There are close to 101,000 active medical marijuana patients in Colorado. There are almost 343,000 new patients since the Medical Marijuana Registry began.

Jefferson County alone accounted for more almost 11 percent of medical marijuana patients in all of Colorado for 2016.

Medical marijuana patients are of every age from zero to 71 and older. The combined average age of all patients is 44 years old.

Patients are roughly split down the middle for sex, with almost 43 percent males, and about 46 percent females.

The top reported condition for those under 17 is seizures. The top reported condition for all those 18 and over is severe pain.

You can see that tens of thousands of people of all walks of life are already being helped by the healing qualities of medical cannabis.

So here’s how to get medical marijuana…

STEP ONE: Have a qualifying medical condition.

You need to either have one of the below listed conditions or have a “debilitating medical condition” that causes one of the following conditions. Other conditions may be noted on other websites, but the list below is directly from the Colorado Department of Health & Environment and it hasn’t been added to since 2001, (although you or a physician can petition to have a condition added).

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV or AIDS

Cachexia

Persistent muscle spasms

Seizures

Severe nausea

Severe pain

STEP TWO: Get a medical marijuana recommendation from a physician.

There are plenty of places that you can get an evaluation, but keep in mind a few things. Firstly, most of these places have considerable wait times to get an appointment because they are quite popular. Second, you may wish to do some research and shop around for the best physician for your particular condition. There’s a world of difference between just knowing how to get a medical marijuana card and finding the right specialist that knows the best way to treat your ailment.

You will need to fill out an application either at the consultation or beforehand, have it notarized, and pay the $15 fee by check or money order to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. On this form you have the option of designating a caregiver. This is situational and entirely up to you. You can also add one later.

You will also need to send your application via certified mail.

Important! There’s also the wonderful news that the state will have online applications available starting in January, 2017 which will make this process far less tedious.

For more information on getting your medical marijuana card, see our blog here.

STEP THREE: Get your medical marijuana.

There are many different strains, varieties, dosages, and transport methods for your medical marijuana. Working with your doctor along with trial and error is often the route taken. There are topicals, edibles, smokables, waxes, resins, drinks, and more. Some affect you longer, and each transport method will affect you differently. Working with your doctor on the minutia of how each one makes you feel and relieves your symptoms, is the fastest and best way to get the relief you are looking for.

For some patients, growing their own plants is the right option, for others it’s buying from a well-established, and reputable dispensary, or a combination thereof. If a patient does best in one of the alternative methods of transport, usually a dispensary is the best option.

That’s it!

You’re now well on your way to getting your medical marijuana! Like any medical condition, it is best dealt with in a partnership with you and your physician. Finding the right strains/amount/transport for your relief should get you ever closer to alleviating your medical symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Visit us at Herbal Remedies where we’ll take care of you. If you need a medical marijuana card we have doctors we can recommend. We cater exclusively to medical patients and serve this population with the professionalism, knowledge, and tender loving care it deserves.